New Delhi: As India nears an 80% Youth literacy rate, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri used the occasion of the National Seminar on School Education to issue a clear message: India’s education gains are impressive, but incomplete.
“Today, we stand at approximately 80% literacy — a significant milestone, no doubt,” he said. “But this progress should not be a moment of complacency — it must inspire the journey ahead.”
Drawing a historical comparison, Puri recalled the 1944 British colonial plan for 100% literacy by 1984, and how even nationalist leaders of the time believed the timeline was too long.
“We’ve made commendable strides in educating the mainstream, but we’ve fallen short at the margins — among the most vulnerable and underserved,” Puri noted.
He calls for an education policy rooted in ‘Antyodaya’, the Gandhian philosophy of uplifting the last person.
#WATCH: Union Minister @HardeepSPuri hits back at critics, reiterates:
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The minister also emphasized the urgent need to correct regional disparities and invest more in public education infrastructure, particularly in underserved states and districts.
“To become a truly developed country, India must view education not as a destination, but as the very road to development,” he added.
The seminar was hosted by the Council for Social Development (CSD) and the Muchkund Dubey Centre for Right to Education, both of which aim to deepen research and policy on equitable education.
